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Drake University Athletics

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Composite Calendar
Antonio Pilipovoci
Katharine Jamtgaard
56
Drake DRA 15-7,5-4 MVC
58
Winner Indiana St. ISU 12-8,5-4 MVC
Drake DRA
15-7,5-4 MVC
56
Final
58
Indiana St. ISU
12-8,5-4 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Drake DRA 33 23 56
Indiana St. ISU 32 26 58

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Drake Athletic Communications

Indiana State Clips Drake Men's Basketball At The Buzzer, 58-56

Bulldogs return home to host SIU for Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Another night in the Missouri Valley Conference came down the final possession as Indiana State's Christian Williams converted on a layup as time expired to defeat the Drake University men's basketball team, 58-56, Wednesday evening at the Hulman Center.

After Drake's attempt to win the game on its final possession came up empty, Indiana State got the ball with less than six seconds left. Williams drove right from the top of the key to the rim as the buzzer sounded and the ball fell through the rim.

"We were doing everything we could in that scenario not to give up a layup," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "We wanted to make them have to kick it out, and unfortunately for us, we weren't able to take that away. They did a nice job, got downhill and made a play."

Drake (15-7, 5-4 MVC) was led by Liam Robbins' fourth double-double of the season as the sophomore scored 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jonah Jackson added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the three-point arc and Garrett Sturtz had an eight-point, eight-rebound night in the loss.

Jordan Barnes led Indiana State (12-8, 5-4 MVC) with 16 points and Tre Williams added 11 points to snap the Sycamores' five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

Neither squad could string together consecutive stops or scores for much of the final five minutes after Drake rallied from an early second-half deficit. Drake faced a three-point deficit with a minute to play when Anthony Murphy drained a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 56-56. 

The Bulldogs' defense forced a stop on the other end and got the ball back with 40 seconds left and the opportunity to take the lead. 

"We were trying to create a little confusion with Jonah Jackson and Roman Penn," DeVries said. "We had a shooter in the corner and Liam Robbins under the basket, but they defended it well and it came up short."

The Sycamores then executed on their game-winning attempt to hand the Bulldogs their fourth road loss in league play.

After Drake engineered defensive stops on Indiana State's first five possessions of the second half, the Sycamores responded with a 13-0 run to take a 45-37 lead with 13 minutes left in the game. Barnes scored seven of those points for the Sycamores before the Bulldogs regrouped after five costly turnovers during that span.

"I thought defensively in the second half, they were aggressive," DeVries said of Indiana State. "I thought they got into us a little bit and got us on our heels to start that second half. They did a nice job of taking away some of what we were trying to do."

Five minutes later, Jackson's fourth three-pointer of the game pulled the Bulldogs back within a basket at 48-46. Shortly after, Cameron Bacote's only three-pointer of the game put ISU back up six, 52-46, with 5:22 left and set into motion the thrilling final minutes.

Jackson was hot early and often for the Bulldogs as he buried his first three three-point attempts of the game and Robbins added five points to help Drake take a 16-7 lead six minutes into the contest. Drake kept its lead at three or more possession for most of the remainder of the first half until Indiana State pulled within three points, 30-27, with less than three minutes left in the period. 

The Bulldogs kept Indiana State from taking the lead, but the Sycamores closed the half with five-straight points to draw within a point at 33-32 at halftime. Jackson's three early three-pointers led Drake in scoring in the first half, while Sturtz and Antonio Pilipovic each added six points to close the half.

Drake returns from the road to the Knapp Center for its next contest, where it has won 15-straight games, the nation's 12th-longest home win streak. The Bulldogs host SIU Saturday at 5 p.m. as part of their Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend with the team wearing special Des Moines inspired uniforms. To further honor the city and those living in the 515 area code, $5.15 general admission tickets are available at DrakeTix.com until Thursday evening.

 
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